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On Sunday, July 10, Archbishop Donnellan dedicated Prince of Peace
Church in Buford. The church, built in a rustic style of cedar, is set on top
of a small rise in a wooded 10-acre tract of land located on South Lee Street
in Buford.
Local civic and business leaders attended the dedication service,
along with the ministers and their wives from the North Gwinnett Ministerial
Association. Music for the dedication ceremonies was provided by the First
United Methodist Church choir of Buford. The Ladies Guild of the parish
provided refreshments following the Mass.
The ceremony marked an important milestone for the Catholic
community of the north Gwinnett County area. About two and one-half years ago
Mass began to be celebrated in Buford on a weekly basis using the facilities of
a local funeral home.
In June 1975, Father Alan Dillmann was assigned to serve the
Buford and Cumming area. The following fall, the parish council formulated
plans to build a church. Architect Louis Maloof, a member of the parish,
designed the building. The plans were quickly approved and construction began.
On Christmas Eve 1975, the first liturgy was celebrated in the
newly finished church. A program for religious education was initiated and the
membership voted to name the parish Prince of Peace.
“The people who built this church named it Prince of Peace
because the first services were held at Christmas,” said Father Dillmann.
“Also, we had to keep in mind that we are in an area sparsely populated by
Catholics. We could have named the church after one of the saints, but it
wouldn’t have much meaning to the people around here as the name Prince of
Peace.”
A dream was thus realized for a small but growing number of
Catholics in the area. According to Father Dillmann, this is especially true of
Leo Lawlor, who has lived in the area for many years. It was because of Mr.
Lawlor that Bona Allen, a local businessman, donated the land for the church.
Mass is celebrated every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and on Saturday
evenings during the summer at 5:30 p.m. |
